Baking

Start of Summer Cake: Blueberry and Lemon Sponge with Cardamom Mascarpone Frosting

13:37:00 theskyisstarless 0 Comments

Summer is finally here! I spent the weekend lounging in the garden, walking in the woods amongst the bluebells, and making cake! This blueberry and lemon cake with cardamom mascarpone frosting is the perfect cake to make on lazy summer days. The flavours all work beautifully together. The lemon and blueberry sponge is a classic but I've added a subtle cardamom flavour to the frosting to give it a little twist.  
For the sponge you will need:
  • 175 g unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 225 g caster sugar
  • 150 g light brown sugar
  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 300 ml milk, room temperature
  • 2 1/2 lemons, zest and juice
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 340 g flour
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 150 g blueberries, washed and dried

Preheat your oven to 170 C. In a large bowl beat the butter until smooth. After about a minute of beating, add the sugars. Beat for around 5 minutes or until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. It is important that your butter and eggs are at room temperature otherwise the mixture will curdle.
In a bowl mix the vanilla extract, milk, lemon juice and zest. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add a third of the dry ingredients to the large bowl, mix until just combined. Add half of the liquid and mix until just combined. Continue this process until you have a third of the flour mixture left.
Stir the blueberries in with your remaining dry ingredients until coated. Add these to the mixture and fold until just combined. Coating the blueberries in flour will, hopefully, prevent them from sinking to the bottom of your cake.

Prepare your cake tins by greasing them and lining their bases with greaseproof paper. Spoon your mixture into your tins and smooth the mixture to make the cakes even. Pop them in the oven for around 25-30 minutes until the cakes are lightly golden and an inserted skewer remains clean. 
Leave your cakes in their tins for 20 minutes before turning out onto your wire rack to cool completely. The blueberries should make your cake resemble blue cheese. The cakes should smell gorgeous, don't be tempted to eat it all now. The frosting is definitely worth the wait.
To make the frosting you will need: 

  • 170 g unsalted butter
  • 125 g icing sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom (I ground cardamom seeds using a mortar and pestle)
  • 240 ml mascarpone
  • 60 ml greek yogurt
Using an electric whisk, beat the butter, icing sugar and ground cardamom until smooth and fluffy. Mix in the mascarpone and yoghurt until just combined. The icing should be smooth and fluffy. Mine curdled a little because it was so warm in my kitchen. To prevent curdling make sure your ingredients are very cold. Sandwich your cakes together with the icing. Top with more icing and your choice of toppings. I decorated mine with blueberries, lemon zest and almonds and sprinkled with grated chocolate and icing sugar. I'm definitely not a pro at icing cakes but the amazing taste definitely makes up for the messy appearance!








Cut the cake into slices and share with your family in the sun!

Love Rhiannon x

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Cooking

Vegan Dinner: Tofu Steaks with Coconut Quinoa and Stir-fried Veggies

10:21:00 theskyisstarless 0 Comments

Tofu is so hard to get right. Often it'll just taste so bland, rubbery, and disappointing. These tofu steaks, however, taste wonderfully crispy and soft and are packed full of flavour. Served with creamy coconut quinoa and stir-fried veg they make a delicious, healthy and filling meal. It comes with the highest recommendations from my family: there were empty plates in minutes and I was begged to make it again. 
This recipe requires a bit of preparation in advance. Draining the tofu leads to a tougher texture which is perfect for these steaks, you want to replace all that water in the tofu with delicious marinade. 
 Drain all the water from your packet of tofu. Place a couple of sheets of kitchen roll onto a plate and place your block of tofu on top. Cover with more kitchen roll and set another plate or heavy object on top. Every 15 minutes, change your kitchen roll. Continue for about an hour. Cut your tofu into pieces, I sliced widthways along the top and then cut each separate block into three pieces along the side. I ended up with 6 pieces, which I placed in a baking dish.

To make the marinade mix together:
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 clove garlic (crushed)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
Coat your tofu pieces in the marinade and cover your dish with cling film. Leave to marinate while you make your quinoa and veggies, turning your tofu pieces over once to make sure that both sides are covered in marinade.


To make coconut quinoa you will need:
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 1/2 cups quinoa
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1 tsp salt
Start by rinsing your quinoa using a sieve. Heat the coconut oil in a saucepan. Add the quinoa and stir on a medium heat until golden.
Add the coconut milk, salt and 1 1/2 cups water. Stir to combine before bringing to the boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and leave to simmer for 20-25 minutes until all the liquid has been absorbed. Whilst your quinoa is simmering, prepare your vegetables (see below)  Add some more water if you think your quinoa needs more cooking. Leave your quinoa to sit for 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork and serving.
To make the stir-fried veggies you will need:
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp ginger
  • 2 tbsps brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • A selection of vegetables. (I used: 1 courgette, a large red pepper, half a head of broccoli, two carrots, and 2 large portobello mushrooms).


Mix all the ingredients apart from the vegetables in a small bowl to make your sauce. Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan and add your vegetables. Heat until the vegetables are soft and browning. Add the sauce and stir well to cover the vegetables.
Meanwhile heat a tsp of oil in a large frying pan. Add your tofu pieces and heat on each side for around 3 minutes. They should be crispy and golden brown on both sides.

Plate up your delicious dinner. Serve and enjoy! This is perfect for dinner parties, dress up your steaks with fresh herbs. It will definitely make all those tofu-haters think again!

Love Rhiannon x

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Baking

Vegan Berry and Banana Tray-Bake

15:59:00 theskyisstarless 0 Comments

I've made vegan cake before and often the results have been dense, soggy, and full of really expensive ingredients. In an attempt to cater for my vegan sister I made this berry and banana tray-bake. I was half expecting it to be left untouched by my family but it was half-eaten by the end of the day. Definitely my most successful vegan cake so far! It's so simple to make, has a really light texture, and doesn't require you to buy any fancy ingredients. It is the perfect way to use up brown bananas and soggy berries!
To make this cake you will need:
  • 170 g caster sugar
  • 75 ml vegetable oil
  • 60 ml unsweetened almond milk
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 ripe bananas
  • 175 g plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 cup of berries (I used a mix of raspberries and blueberries)
  • A handful of flaked almonds (optional)
Grease and line a 9 inch square tin with vegetable oil. Preheat the oven to 175 C.
 In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, oil, milk, and vanilla extract.
 In a separate bowl mash the banana. Add this to the liquids in the large bowl and mix.
 Add the flour, the baking powder, and the salt to the bowl. Fold until just combined. Don't worry if there are lumps. Over-mixing will mean that you don't get a lovely light-textured traybake.
Set aside a few of the berries to top your traybake. Carefully mix the rest into your cake batter.
 Pour the mixture into your prepared tin. Top with your berries and sprinkle a handful of flaked almonds over the top.
 Bake your traybake for around 40 minutes or until golden brown on the top and an inserted skewer remains clean.
 Once cooled, cut the traybake into slices. I cut mine into 12 pieces but cut depending on how big you want your pieces to be.



Dust with icing sugar, make a big pot of tea, and enjoy your delicious and guilt-free vegan traybake.

Love Rhiannon x

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Cooking

My Healthy and Nutritious Minestrone Soup

17:39:00 theskyisstarless 0 Comments

Minestrone soup is the perfect thing to keep you going all day. My version contains beans, pasta, kale and many assorted vegetables to create a well balanced soup. This is such an adaptable recipe, I basically used whatever I found in the fridge, so use whatever is in season- anything goes in this soup! 
To make this soup I used:
  • 2 tbsps oil
  • 1 onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 potatoes
  • 1 carrot
  • 2 peppers
  • handful of green beans
  • 1.5 litres of vegetable stock made with 6 tsps of Vegan Marigold Bouillon
  • 1x400g can chopped tomatoes
  • 200g tomato passata
  • pinch oregano
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 150 g pasta (e.g macaroni, I used gnocchi sardi pasta)
  • 1 courgette
  • handful of mushrooms
  • 1 tin of beans (I used borlotti beans but most beans would do)
  • handful of kale 

The number of people that this soup feeds depends on the number of ingredients you add. The soup I made served around 8 hungry people. 


Chop your onion and your garlic.
 In a large pan, heat your oil. Add the onion and the garlic and cook gently for around 5 minutes, stirring until soft.
 Chop your peppers and carrot, dice your potatoes, and chop your green beans into thirds. Add these to the pan and gently cook until soft. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the stock, tinned tomatoes, passata, dried herbs, and sugar. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. Taste and season. I added a pinch of paprika to give it a kick. Simmer gently for 30-40 minutes.
 Increase the heat and add your pasta. Boil for around 5 minutes.
Chop the mushrooms and courgette and add these to your soup.
 Add the drained beans. Simmer until the pasta is cooked and all the vegetables are soft. 

 Wash the kale and slice it into strips. Add this to the soup and simmer until wilted. Taste and adjust your seasoning. 
Ladle out your soup and top with seeds, cheese etc. I topped mine with pumpkin seeds and served with fresh bread. 
This soup is such an easy thing to make. I'm going to make some on Sunday so that I'll have some every day to keep my energy levels high at work.

Please share your pictures with me on instagram or pinterest. 

Love Rhiannon x

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